GDA 2013

Thumbs up! Head down and everything, GDA is the best Kpop event ever happened in my life!

I got to see SJ and EXO is such a close proximity that it even beats any Super Show and Asia Super Showcase that I bragged about in my earlier post.

I was ready to be prepared to be sandwhiched by all the fans. Expecting the worst to happen in Rockpit area which I initially bought. I was only preparing myself to breathe enough air and have the stamina to face the screen and was not expecting to see them in person at all.

But luck had my way, my friend who was been giving me a headache because she wants to see Yonghwa (a minute she's going, the other minute she's off) got to know from our colleague that they have some free Samsung Galaxy Zone tickets!! Initially, she only got one for herself, so me being me, asked her to go ahead. I'm going to stand at Rockpit with my another ELF friend but then it strike me that usually they will have more than 1 tix so I asked to ask for 2 more so that we could go together. With some persuasion, she got 3 free tix!! For all of us!! So, the next thing that I need to do is sell off all of our Rockpit tix which we did because Rockpit was sold out!!

We were running late for Red Carpet because some buyers were giving me a headache at the venue. I couldn't find them and was really nervous that I might miss the red carpet. True to my prediction, the moment I got into the venue, all I see is Kris's head from faraway. We need to run to the front and go through this long corner to get to the red carpet area and by the moment I reached, EXO vanished!! TT_TT I kept hitting my friend telling her I missed EXO!! After EXO, all others idols came - KARA, 4Minute, Beast, B1A4, Shinee, FT Island, CNBLUE (my friend again asked me to leave red carpet for the stage after she saw Yonghwa). I told her I will stay for SJ but she kind of want me to leave but in the end, she waited with me. When it was SJ turn, I immediately looked at Kyuhyun. It was a bit far but still clear, they did not stayed long, They did their Super Junio~or pose for quite a while. Some of them initially want to get closer to the fans by going down the stage but the security did not allow them. It was damn HOT that day so they went back to their vans right after.

I was standing at the right side of the stage which is very near to the MC stand so for the whole first night, I got to watch Yonghwa and Nicole and the second night, Hongki and Dasom most of the time. I can fairly see the stage clearly too. Too bad I did not bring my standing stool on Day1 because I'm afraid they will not allow it. Seeing there's absolutely no security at all, I brought it on Day2. Yes, I attended both days of GDA since I got such a good ticket at absolutely no cost at all and I even sold my ELF friend tix on Day2.

Judging by my LQ pics, you can see that I got to see them quite close. Mind you, this is only taken at max 4x zoom using my Note2. The videos turned out better but my poor battery could not sustain on the first day. Too many pics need to be taken. Amazingly, for Day2 as I just stand there to enjoy the performance, I only used half of my battery.

EXO at main stage. View from where I stand.

 

SJ with their Bonsang 

I just wanna brag at how close I am from the stage and I don't even consider myself to be that close to the idols. I kept a distance because I don't want to strain my neck. And yet I see these pretty EXO boys right in front of me. I was looking for Kyuhyun but he's not there in the ending so I keep looking at Donghae and EXO most of the time. Siwon and Eunhyuk were also in front. Hyuk kept moving so my phone could not capture him clearly. I guess my hand were shaking and they're moving a lot so most of the photos did not turn out well. SJ and EXO were in front all the time. The only one I did not see is Sungmin. I don't know where he ninja'd too. There's also a moment with FT Island at the ending. Hongki said something like "I'm so fucking cool, you're so fucking hot" along the line and SJ reaction were priceless! It's too late for Siwon, Donghae and Eunhyuk to control him and Kangin dragged him away. Clearly the craziness of Hongki! SJ also let all the idols say their Thank You's in the end. Truly the sunbaenims!! Hallyu Kings bowed after all the idols left and Eunhyuk was the last to leave the stage!

 

Our Hallyu Kings bowing to the fans before leaving the stage

2nd day was enjoyable. I like all the acts but I did not go all out. I even reached late, missed MissA and T-Ara opening and don't even know what act are performing. Turns out it was BAP. 2nd night crowd seemed to be larger but I'm very impressed by Ailee, Sistar, K.will and everybody. It was great but I did not run around like the first night. Just stand there and enjoy the whole performances. Crowd went wild during G-Dragon's performance as expected. Honestly, the best performance for that night go to K.Will and Hyorin's duet of Endless Love! Ailee was amazing and there's F(x) too!

To sum it all, GDA was the best Kpop event I went to! It was a plus I got to see all my biases so upclose but to see so many idols was very rare. I, for one, will not attend any Kpop showcase or concerts if it's not SJ (or EXO-maybe) but to see all of them in such a prestigious award which will happen only maybe once in my Kpop life is indescribable with words. Fans paid a thousand to have a standing place like mine whereas I only paid less than RM50 to enjoy two wonderful Kpop night with everything included.

It's unlikely that I could experience such an event again. Until that day happens, this will mark as my best Kpop experience ever!

SMTOWN, Asia Super Showcase & GDA

It goes with the saying, "What SM produces are gold" or so I believed.
It's already a known fact that there's the BIG 3 in Korea  - SM, YG and JYP. And although all the companies have big, famous, global stars - I think SM stand on its own as the only company that produces big stars over and over and never fails. True, YG have Big Bang and 2NE1 and recently, PSY that shot to stardom because of Gangnam Style. But I couldn't help but to label PSY as a one-hit-wonder. No matter what he do next, he will never achieve the same popularity of Gangnam Style. YG also have a few underrated artists - they may be known in Korea but are much less famous worldwide. JYP have steady acts. All their stars are famous but they do not have the same star power like artists from SM and YG. They are all relatively known names - 2PM, 2AM, Wonder Girls and Miss A but even with all the names combined, they are a bit far out in comparison.

This is, however, sincerely my thoughts. You could just say I'm very SM biased. I am. I love SMTOWN but I do listen to Kpop generally. I need to admit that although I'm not a Big Bang and 2NE1 fan, I love their songs so very much! I may also love SMTOWN but I will admit that SM does not produce a good album. They may be very good with their title tracks but the whole album does not function like a good album should ( Alive and I Am The Best get the kudos here).

My fascination towards SMTOWN, of course starts with Super Junior. When Sorry Sorry is extremely famous, you couldn't miss out on Gee. And slowly, we're introduced to Shinee and f(x). Same story though, although they're both from SM, I'm not really a fan. I listen and like their songs but I don't go crazy over them. When EXO was first introduced, however, I was very interested. Until, they kept showing Kai's teasers and I got bored - to the extreme that I don't pay attention at all. The total of 12 members also got me so confused. Sure, they're so pretty to feast my eyes on them but then I gave up remembering their names cos' they look so alike. I think this is the repeat of what happened when I first got to know SJ. Only that I succumbed to SJ because Sorry Sorry was a good album and their variety shows are all too good. With EXO, they're so raw and have not shown anything but they're so popular I couldn't understand why. I remained uninterested. MAMA is not a song that you would like immediately. I had the whole album downloaded and deleted not long after thinking well, I would never like such a group.

 Then, SMTOWN Singapore came and I'm very impressed with EXO. They command the same attention as their seniors. My main purpose of going is of course, because of SJ but I had to say, all of them including Kangta are extremely good. They don't trained for years for nothing and once they make their debut, they are here to stay! Surprisingly, the most memorable performance of the night goes to Ryeowook, Onew, Chen and Baekhyun, "Open Arms". Their voices just match each other and there are absolutely no flaws at all.

Still, it does not leave such a big impact to me. SMTOWN Singapore was a dissapointment to me. It stays at the back just right above MoA. Then, few weeks later, I went to Asia Super Showcase. Main purpose is of course SJM but that night, I've been converted into an EXO fan too! Sure, I like BtoB as well. Love their songs to the max but, yeah, just songs. EXO-M, however, were so charming in their innocent way, that although their performances was the shortest, it still leave a deep impact. SJM was of course, so much fun. ELF totally went crazy when they appear, your's truly included. I even climbed the barricade because I couldn't see at all! Fans at VIP seating area were all standing on their chairs. They were so calm when EXO-M performed earlier!! But truly, this will be on my top list that although I can't see SJM most of the time because I was too far from the stage but once they come to the extended stage, I can see them so clearly and the fanservice was awesome!!

So, when GDA was announced to be held in Malaysia. I was like, "Damn, why do you have to come again?".Of course, bringing so many Kpop acts to our shores are nice but you don't really have the money to go with the expensive tickets and frequency of each events. But I was secretly hoping that they couldn't sell out the tickets and it would end up on the discount websites. Voila, wish granted and there I am, in a dilemma whether to go or not. At last decision made and I bought my tickets. No high hopes whatsoever. I just want to enjoy the night. Hopefully, SJ will win Daesang again! I know for sure all artists will win something whether it's truly an award or something make out but Daesang and Bonsang are the real thing. I swear I would scream my lungs out if SJ win Daesang again this year. Let's wait for me to blog about it after it happened. Now, I'm just looking forward to GDA coming this Tuesday and it's just 2 more days!!